How they became a family
by Andara.Somnia
Summary: During their trip to Argentina, Robin and Barney make a decision that changes their lives, but it's not the choice you think. Now they must tell their friends the story of how they became a family. AU from the ending of HIMYM.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own How I Met Your Mother and never will. Nor will I make a profit from this fanfic.

_I, like many, was not happy with the ending to HIMYM and was thinking of all the different possibilities of an ending when this came to me. This is going to Robin/Barney centric. I am not sure how long it will be as I just started writing it on the fly but we will see. Thank you for reading._

**Chapter 1: It all started when**

_Prologue _

They all sat in Ted and Tracy's living room, drinking beer and scotch while updating each other on parts of their current lives they may have missed since the last time they'd gathered.

Marshall was trying unconvincingly to only say good things about his new job at a law firm. Or maybe he actually liked his job and everything Robin heard tonight sounded negative?

She tried to pay attention, or at least appear as if she was, but her nerves were getting the better of her.

Barney and she had big news to tell the group and they hadn't discussed how they were going to present the big choice they had made while away. Now that she thought of it, it seemed obvious they should have planned this out. However, considering they had been living their lives in the moment up until this point a plan hadn't happened.

Maybe she could telepathically send Barney a message to abort the mission?

Robin tried to stealthily make eye contact with Barney while Lily talked about karma calling their phone or something. Once he caught her eye she concentrated as much as she could on what she thought could be the feeling of transferring ones thoughts to another, if that was possible.

"_Barney I can't do this! Abort mission Argentina!"_

If Barney was hearing her thoughts he did not have time to answer as the question she'd been dreading all night came up.

"Hey what about you guys, how was Argentina?" Tracy asked.

Robin felt her palms start to sweat as her and Barney made eye contact. Could everyone else see the panic that had to be written on their faces or was she just imagining it?

"Great, it was great. It was great." Barney said.

"It _was_ great," crap she sounded just as bad as Barney.

"It was great," Barney repeated.

"It _was_ great. It. Was. Great." Robin shook head and closed her eyes.

Good lord which one of them was even talking? Had they really both just repeated great over and over? How many greats sounded bad? Not a good start.

Everyone was giving them weird looks which was justified considering they sounded crazy.

"One more and I'll believe you," Tracy said smiling awkwardly.

Dammit why did Ted's wife have to be so damn perspective? Barney and her used to be great liars, what the hell happened?

Robin and Barney sighed and glanced at each other. The gig was up.

Could they tell them?

What would their reaction be?

Maybe they could make something up?

As if Barney could actually hear her thoughts, he slightly shook his head at her. It was a negative to the abort.

Well this was it then, they were going to tell them.

"It all started when…"


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own HIMYM and never will.

_Glad to see chapter 1 went over well. I know everyone is searching for fics with alternate endings I just didn't think mine would be read so quickly. Hope this is a good chapter too. Thanks for reading._

**Chapter two: A mission in Argentina**

Argentina was beautiful. There was sun, beaches, and plenty of seaside bars lining the coast.

Robin had counted her lucky stars when she had been given the assignment from World Wide News to report on an American mission group serving in the area.

It had also seemed like the perfect assignment for her husband to tag along on, until they got to the hotel.

"This is so _not_ great!" Barney yelled punctuating every word by waving his arms, emphasizing his displeasure.

"I'm sorry that I have to work while I'm here, it's called being on assignment!" Robin yelled back shrugging her shoulders in exasperation.

"What about me? There's no Wi-Fi in this hotel, how am I supposed to run a business Robin with no Wi-Fi?" Barney showed her his computer as if that made the lack of Wi-Fi more apparent.

"It's not a business Barney, it's a blog! Ok?" Robin countered.

The idea that Barney actually believed his blog to be a business was a notion they had argued about before. If he was a journalist that would be a whole other matter but no one even knew what his new job title was in his new job.

"It is a lifestyle blog for the upscale, sophisticated, urban gentlemen and it's never going to take off if I can't post today's boner joke!"

She had to walk away from him. The urge to go into Canadian hockey mode was strong and they were in a nice hotel, they couldn't just start throwing things like they use to when they first starting dating years ago.

There was only one thing she could do to keep Barney entertained until they could figure out this Wi-Fi issue.

"Barney if you go with me on this first interview I swear we will search the whole country to find a coffee shop with internet connection."

This had occasionally happened before when she'd been sent on assignments Barney deemed "legendary," such as the time a boy decided to be a sniper during laser tag and climbed onto the ceiling rafters to then get stuck. Barney had spent the whole interview shooting at the kid and afterwards begged Robin to play a round, or a few, before they left.

That had been a hard one to explain to the boss.

Barney drank the rest of his wine and eyed her suspiciously for a moment.

"Can we have sex first?" Barney finally said.

Robin rolled her eyes and looked at the clock on the bedside table, "Fine, but just once."

"That's what you saw now," Barney mumbled jumping backwards onto the bed.

"What did you say?" Robin said but none the less climbed into bed with him.

And that was how they ended up riding in a jeep, which may or may not break down any second, on a sliver of a dirt road up a mountain. Barney, who still believed cars were metal death traps, was plastered to her side trying to joke about how awesome the drive was although everyone could clearly see how he jumped and scooted closer to her every time they hit a hole.

If it wasn't blazing hot outside and he was possibly wrinkling her suit jacket she would laugh.

"Barney we're almost to the top, do you think you could sit on your own seat and not my lap?" Robin sighed while trying to pull her arm from his tight hold.

"What? You know I'm just trying to make sure you're not nervous. There's only a slight possibility we could go over the edge of this cliff and die in a burning doom machine," Barney's voice pitched higher and higher as he finished his sentence. He tried to put on a charming smile and adjust his tie but the jeep came to a sudden halt and he latched back onto her arm.

As she peeled her husband off of her, Robin stepped out of the jeep onto what could be considered a church parking lot. Really it was just a cleared out dirt patch in front of a rundown wooden building with a steeple.

It could possibly be a church if you squinted at it.

Surrounding the church was large open white tents with mission group members dressed in lab coats bustling in and out; small children followed them wherever they went. The mission group was stationed at the church because it also acted as an orphanage. The group had come to Argentina to give medical care to children that could not afford treatment.

Robin waved her camera crew off to set up for the interview as she faced her husband who had finally climbed out of the jeep.

"Ok Barney here's the rules. 1. No dressing up in a lab coat. 2. No playing pranks on the mission group, the nuns, and especially not the children. 3. No trying to sneak into the frame while I'm filming. 4. -,"

"Robin Stinson, that never gets old, would I do such a thing?" Barney put his hand on her shoulder and titled his head to the side, his signature innocent look. "I'm here to support you. I'll be out of sight and out of mind just as you've decreed previously," Barney smiled what she assumed he thought was a reassuring smile. Then he spun around, looking over the scene, and ran off towards the church.

Robin sighed bringing her hand up to rub her temple.

Barney in a church, what could possibly go wrong?

A few scenarios flashed through her mind, each worse than the last, ending with the image of the church being struck by lightning.

Robin shook her head as if to clear it, gave the church another worried glance, then turned to find her crew and begin the interview.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own HIMYM and never will nor will I make profit from this fic.

This was a hard chapter for me to write but it finally came out like I wanted it to. I'm really picky about how I write. But I'm really enjoying the good reviews and it's a big motivator so thank you to everyone who takes the time to write something. By now some of you may have guessed where this story is going so let's see how it plays out.

**Chapter 3: Barney and the baby **

Robin finished her interview and waited just long enough for the camera crew to give her the signal that they were no longer recording before heaving a huge sigh of relief. Her face actually hurt from having to smile for so long.

The taping had been extensive. They had interviews with the mission group, locals working at the church/orphanage, and she'd even convinced some kids who spoke small bits of English to talk to her. Well, maybe talk was not the right word as the kids mostly knew the names of candy the mission group gave them after their shots.

Non-the-less it looked cute when she asked them what their favorite flavor was for the camera.

Robin looked around trying to catch a glimpse of her husband. He had been strangely absent her whole interview. Usually he would have bothered her at least once to say he was bored or try to get her to do something ridiculous on camera.

He wasn't in eye-sight so it looked like she'd have to hunt him down.

As she walked, Robin surveyed the area. While recording she had been so concentrated on getting a good story she really hadn't taken the whole scene of the place in.

Children were lined up outside of tents waiting to be hustled like an assembly line down rows of tents. The first tent was taking temperatures, listening to heart beats, and other check-up kind of procedures. After tent one the kids would be passed to other tents down the line that offered treatments they needed such as glasses fittings, bandages, pills, or shots. The tent with shots was the rowdiest as no child liked having a needle shoved in their arm.

When finished with their examinations the children were released with handfuls of treats and allowed to play. It seemed like a piece of candy was well worth the discomfort of a doctor visit to these kids.

Robin saw the clothes they wore were clearly hand-me-downs; most of the kids were too big or too small for their outfits. Some children weren't wearing shoes and she wondered if it was because they didn't want to wear them like most kids or if they just didn't have any.

With still no sign of Barney, Robin decided to look inside the church.

The church was not very large. The first floor of the church was typical with rows of benches and a long aisle that led to an altar. The windows did not have glass and the inside of the church was pretty bare. There were candles at the entrance and on the altar which had a simple white cloth laid over it for decoration. Rooms upstairs were used for classrooms a few days a week when local teachers volunteered to teach the older children.

The basement had rooms that had been converted into bedrooms. One room held cribs for newborns and toddlers. Another was for the women that looked over the children during the night. The rest of the rooms had rows of beds for older children. The rooms were separated by girls and boys; however, they were not decorated in any distinguishing ways so they pretty much looked the same.

Today the youngest children were kept inside to be treated. Toddlers and newborns did not take well to getting shots so they were separated from the older children to keep from frightening them. Mission group members administered the shots while volunteers tried to distract the babies during or comfort them afterwards.

This is where Robin found Barney.

Barney sat on a bench with a squirming baby as a mission group member prepared a shot. The baby was young, maybe a year or less old. Considering the baby was dressed in a pink Robin assumed it was a girl. The baby had a full head of dark wavy hair and large brown eyes that stayed locked on Barney no matter where he moved.

Robin watched as Barney spoke quietly to the baby while the doctor took one of her arms to disinfect for the shot. When the baby grabbed his tie and tugged it out of place Robin held her breath expecting Barney to freak out; instead he smiled. Barney covered her hand that held his tie with his and tickled her nose with the tip making her giggle.

Unnoticed the doctor quickly stuck the needle into the babies arm. She didn't cry; she simply kept her eyes focused on Barney as he smiled down at her.

Robin tried to go unnoticed as she watched them together but a woman who worked at the orphanage approached her.

"He is your husband right?" the woman asked her.

Robin nodded not taking her eyes off Barney as he moved to an empty chair with the baby and began to speak softly to her.

"Eliana cried with others but once she was in his arms she only smiled. Your husband must be very good with children."

Robin didn't answer and it didn't seem to the bother the woman. They both watched Barney as he played with baby Eliana.

How was Barney such a natural with a baby?

Robin was still awkward with Lily and Ted's kids. She was constantly afraid she was doing something wrong or at any minute they would start to cry.

She considered herself a baby disaster zone while Barney…

Barney seemed like he was meant to be a father.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own or make money off of HIMYM, but that'd be cool if I did.

This was even harder to write then the last chapter. Emotions are always hard to convey just how you want them. Most of the scenes in this chapter come from the episode Symphony of Illumination. I love to tie in episodes with my fics.

Hope you enjoy.

**Chapter 4: Echo's from the past**

Robin didn't say anything as her team packed up the camera equipment. She tried to agree or disagree at the right moments when others spoke to her. She thought she laughed appropriately at the café when Barney told her the jokes he was posting on his blog.

But she didn't feel like she was really there. She felt like she was locked in Lily and Marshall's bathroom as she tried to explain to Barney that she thought she was pregnant many years ago.

She remembered how she'd been afraid. She'd been afraid Barney would faint (which he had twice, after she'd punched him), or jump out the window, or simply refuse to believe he was a father.

But he hadn't done any of those things.

In fact he'd surprisingly said, "That's wonderful." and "I'm gonna be a daddy!"

This had caused her to faint.

He'd turned on daddy mode so fast it'd made her head spin. He wouldn't let her drink; he dragged her to a baby store and shoved cute baby dresses into her face. All-the-while she was freaking out.

At one point he told her he wanted to be a dad.

Could that still be true? Did Barney still somewhere deep down want to be a father?

As they made their way up the stairs to their room, Robin thought about how they'd both consecutively freaked out at the baby store and decided they didn't want her to be pregnant. They'd even danced at the doctor's office when they found out she wasn't pregnant.

Barney knew she couldn't have kids. She told him years ago and he'd been the one person who did exactly as she wanted when she told them, he held her. Before their wedding he told his mother she couldn't have kids and that he hadn't wanted any.

But he liked kids. He adored his nephew since the first time he'd met him. He was even good with Marvin, Daisy and Penny.

It had always been clear that Barney liked kids but today it was clear that kids liked Barney.

The image of Barney holding that baby, Eliana, was burned into her brain.

Robin was use to Barney looking at her like she glowed. She could be the only person he saw in a whole room sometimes.

Today she'd seen that look on his face as he stared at another girl.

Robin poured herself a glass of wine, taking a large gulp before filling it back to the top again. She tried to sit but felt restless.

Barney was packing away his laptop but was doing it suspiciously slow. He'd noticed at some point she was too quiet which was unusual after a shoot.

Usually she would have talked non-stop all about it. Hell, usually she'd be so turned on from being on air she wouldn't be able to keep her hands off Barney or even wait till they'd reached their room.

Barney was giving her sideway glances as he poured himself some wine. Robin saw as the wheels in his head turning as he tried to come up with a reason she would be upset. He looked at the exits, the door from the room or the balcony.

"Robin -"

"Barney, are you happy?" she interrupted whatever he was going to say.

Barney looked taken-a-back for a moment clearly confused from the question. Then he sighed, chugged his glass of wine and tried to flatten his already flat tie.

"Robin if this is about earlier I'm sorry I yelled about the WiFi –"

"No Barney it's not about the WiFi," she interrupted him again. Robin sighed and brought her hand up to rub her forehead. "Is this just not working anymore?"

"What this? This, this?" Barney asked as he waved his hand between them. He looked confused, really confused. This was understandable since she wasn't making much sense.

Her thoughts were jumbled with images of the past flashing across her mind.

Robin remembered the blonde young man dressed stylishly in an Italian suit and the young girl with long brown hair much like her own. She'd talked to them, explaining how she'd told their father she was pregnant. She'd apologized multiple times for saying she'd never wanted them. She'd watched them disappear as she found out she not only was not pregnant but could never have children.

She remembered the cold chill as the snow fell around her and the chill inside her as she realized she would never have them. She remembered how empty it had felt to lose of them.

Robin took a deep breath and looked into Barney's eyes.

"If I gave you an out, right now, if there was an exit ramp right here at the three year mark, would you take it?" she asked.

Barney inhaled deeply, his eyes widening.

Oh god, why had she just said that? That was not the question she'd meant to ask.

"R-Robin?" Barney was staring at her and not moving as if he was afraid if he did she would scare and run away like a deer.

Did she look that scared?

Robin closed her eyes unable to look at Barney and exhaled deeply as she down on the bed.

"I saw the way you looked at her," it was barely a whisper but Robin was sure Barney heard her.

The room was still. Suddenly it was silent but loud at the same time. She could hear her own heart beating in her ears. The clock ticking on the wall sounded more like it was beating down the door. The ocean three stories down sounded like they were standing right in front of it. But they were silent and it was the most deafening.

Barney slowly sat in the bed beside her. She felt his fingers tuck under her chin and he gently forced her to look at him. His eyes darted all over her face as if he was unsure where to look.

"Looked at who Robin?" he spoke quietly.

Why were they whispering like they were telling a secret?

"The baby. Eliana," Robin felt her throat clamp up. She wanted to look away but his eyes wouldn't let hers go. "I saw you at the church with her."

"I don't understand," Barney said.

Of course he didn't understand; she was doing a terrible job of this.

Robin moved her chin out of his reach and looked at the floor.

"Barney you know I can't have children," she choked on that last word. Why? She hadn't been upset at this fact in years. "Barney, do you want children?" Robin peeked to the side as she said this; she wanted to see his reaction.

First he looked surprised then his faced changed into many emotions. Somehow he looked confused, panicked, sad, and finally ashamed before looking away from her.

Barney folded his hands in his lap and stayed silent.

Robin wondered what he was thinking. Was he mad at her? Was he thinking about what she'd offered before about a way out?

"Before I answer that," Barney said and looked back up her. "Real quick, do you want to get super drunk and have sex right now?"

She was scared and he was scared. What else could they do but fall back to old habits? They'd always avoided things: the Talk, fights, the truth.

Why couldn't love just be simple like sex? During sex you didn't have to talk about emotions you only had to feel them.

Right now Robin felt empty and she'd do anything to feel something right now.

"Of course!"


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I do not own HIMYM and make no money from it._

_Sorry it has taken so long to finally post. Works been busy and I had family visit me. But we're almost done here so I hope you enjoy. One idea in this chapter comes from the episode The Final page part 1._

**Chapter 5: Legen – wait for it - **

The first thing Robin became aware of when she woke up was the pounding headache currently trying to split her head apart. The second thing was realizing she was lying on the floor, a very hard uncomfortable floor.

Robin opened her eyes, wincing at the sharp pain behind her eyes from the light, and slowly propped herself up on her elbows. She looked over as Barney began to stir also.

All she could remember from last night was grabbing the wine bottle and jumping into bed with Barney. They had to have had more than just that one bottle of wine though because she felt like death this morning.

"Did last night really happen?" Robin asked as she tried to shield the light from her eyes with her hand.

"I think so," Barney groaned. "Look let's just agree absolute silence for the rest of the day."

Robin was about to agree when suddenly a shrill cry rang out across the room.

Robin groaned and threw her head back in exasperation. Everything seemed ten times as loud as it should be.

"Every time," Barney laughed keeping his eyes closed. "Do you want me to get her?"

"No I'll get her," Robin said. She took a deep breath and pushed herself to her feet.

A young baby was standing in a crib crying. It reached out to Robin as came to stand over the crib. Robin picked up the baby make shushing noises as she bounced trying to calm the down. It worked as the baby instantly calmed in her arms.

The feeling of normalcy washed over as she rocked the baby. There was something to waking up every day to a crying infant and being the only that could calm them down that was rewarding. She could get use to a feeling like this.

That's when it hit her. Robin froze with the sudden realization that something was very wrong with this picture.

"Hey Barney?"

"Yeah?" Barney sat up from the floor and propped himself up on the bed.

"Whose baby is this?" Robin asked.

Just as Robin finished the question a women burst through the door and stared screaming at them in another language. She rushed over to a stunned Robin and took the baby from her. Robin and Barney tried to apologize in their confused state as they escaped through the door out into the hallway.

As they made their get-away across the hall the whole night came flooding back to Robin.

One bottle of wine had not been enough. Two bottles of wine made everything feel a lot better. She lost count after three but at some point they had both reached a clarity state.

Barney was leaning against the headboard of the bed while had her head on his lap as he combed his fingers through her hair. They were passing a bottle of wine back and forth taking swigs straight from the bottle.

"Robin," Barney said in a robotic voice she vaguely remembered him using when she and Ted had questioned him the night before their wedding.

"Hmmm?" Robin hummed as she took a sip of wine before turning her head to look up at Barney.

Here comes round three she thought.

Barney stared down at her with a serious expression on his face. His hand continued to comb through her hair as he spoke.

"Robin, do you want children?" Barney asked.

Momentarily Robin felt sober as her heart clenched painfully. She sat up quickly pulling the sheets around her as she sat the bottle of wine down harshly on the bedside table. She folded her around herself and glared at Barney angrily.

"Barney you know I can't have children," she growled at him. How could he remind of that at a time like this? She felt justly angry as a child does when they do not get their way.

Barney didn't flinch as he continued to stare at her. He calmly scooted closer to her and rested his hand on her knee.

"That's not what I asked you. Robin if you could, would you want to have a baby with me?" Barney was looking at her straight in eyes making her feel as if he was pinning her in place with his stare.

She took a sharp breath in as the question hit her.

Once again the images she'd imaged of how their children looked so long ago haunted her. Again she felt the pain and the sadness of realizing she could never have them.

She'd never wanted them until she couldn't have them.

She remembered Ted holding up an onesie with a maple leaf. She'd known she couldn't have children at that point but she'd still imagined a baby, part Barney and part her, wearing the outfit. For a blitz second it had made her happy. She remembered the times she babysat Marvin or Penny when they were still babies. She imagined if it had been her baby she'd held, played with, or tucked in at night. She thought of all the drawings she'd appeared in over the years as Aunt Robin and instead pictured her childishly drawn self with the word mom written above her head.

She thought about how her heart had melted as she watched Barney interact with baby Eliana earlier. How she'd suddenly realized Barney would make a great father.

And she realized deep down, deep, deep, down she'd thrown the part of herself who'd wanted those children for just second in a pit like in _The Silence of the Lambs _because the feeling of wanting them had driven her crazy.

She didn't want to feel what it was like to be that Robin because that Robin couldn't exist without constantly reminding her of what she couldn't have. However, those feelings still remained no matter how far she tried to bury them.

Robin swallowed hard and looked at Barney.

"I would want children with you Barney," Robin's voice cracked and she felt the tears at the corner of her eyes.

Barney moved to hold her but she pushed him away and grabbed the bottle of wine. After she took two big gulps she pushed the bottle to Barney.

"I don't want to talk Barney," Robin said as she climbed on top of him.

Barney looked at her carefully before a small smile formed on his lips. He drank from the bottle, sat it back down on his bedside table, and accepted her into his arms.

It hadn't been the time for talking then, but now it was a new day and they had to finish this once and for all.

As they entered their room Robin tried to think of a good way to approach the subject.

"Oh these rooms all look the same even when you're sober," Robin said as she threw her shoes on the bed.

Well that was a lame way to avoid what she really wanted to say.

"You're sober?" Barney said as he raised an eye-brow at her.

They stood there looking at each other as the room began to feel awkward.

Robin knew Barney wasn't going to start this conversation so she was going to have to.

"So ummm," Robin looked at the floor and tried to keep her tongue from tying up. "About what we discussed last night," she looked up as Barney moved closer to her. "How do you feel?"

Barney's brows creased together as he stopped moving. He looked straight ahead with glazed over eyes and she knew he was thinking about what her words meant. He sat down heavily and looked up at her.

"We talked about a lot of things last night Robin."

Robin sighed; there went the hope that he'd forgotten their drunken discussion.

Robin sat down beside Barney. She felt too shaky to stand on her feet.

"Barney even if we wanted to, I can't have kids."

Barney opened his mouth to say something but Robin held her hand up in front of him.

"Barney let me finish. I think you would make an amazing father and you still have time to find a girl that could give you that. We thought we were perfect for each other before but that can always change. If you're not happy living this way I can give you a way out."

As she finished Robin searched through Barney's eyes trying to see a sign of understanding, but he just looked at her with that same hurt expression on his face as he had yesterday.

"I love you Robin and when we got married I vowed to you that I'd always tell you the truth and I want you to do the same for me," Barney said.

Robin was surprised. She hadn't expected him to turn this on her.

"Robin, if there was a way to have children – "

"Barney don't start with that. There is no if so just answer my question!" Robin yelled jumping to her feet to stand over Barney.

Barney looked up at her for a moment. He took a deep breath and stood so he was in front of her.

How could he look so calm while she felt like she was falling to pieces?

"Robin just answer me," Barney said.

"No Barney I don't want to do this." Robin tried to turn away from Barney but he grabbed her arms and forced her to stay facing him.

"Robin." Barney tilted his head down so he could look into her eyes.

He looked so serious it made Robin stop breathing for a second.

In her mind she looked down in the pit and no longer saw a different Robin standing there. She saw herself as she was now, scared and alone. She knew she was the only one that could throw her a lifeline and that meant she had to be honest with herself.

"Yes. Yes Barney, if there was a way I would want to have children with you," Robin whispered.

She wanted to feel like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders but it didn't. It felt more like her heart was breaking.

Robin looked at Barney to see what he was thinking and was surprised by the huge smile on his face.

"Robin I know this is sudden, but I've thought about this a lot," Barney seemed nervous but pressed forward. "My brother once told me the thing he hated most about being gay was he was never going to be able to have children. But then he did."

"Barney what does this have to do with us?" Robin interrupted but was shushed by Barney.

"As I was saying. James thought he could never have children, but now he has a son." Barney paused. He was looking at her waiting to see if she understood.

As the pieces started to form together Robin went from confused to surprised.

"Robin I have a legen – wait for it – dary idea."


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I don't' own or make money off HIMYM._

_Now we're back to the present time to see how the group will handle Robin and Barney's big news. Hope everyone has enjoyed the story so far._

**Chapter 6: Elli**

"Oh would you guys just tell us what's going on! I'm dying!" Lily screeched.

All of their friends were huddled around them listening closely to their story so far.

Robin and Barney smiled at each other. Robin took one of Barney's hands, linking her fingers with his. She nodded at him which made Barney grin.

Barney's hand went to the breast pocket of his suit and pulled out a picture. He'd kept the picture on him at all times since it had been taken.

The picture was of Robin, taken from behind so she was looking over her shoulder. In the photo she was smiling as she looked at the camera. In her arms was a baby who was reaching over her shoulder toward the camera. The baby was a girl with a head of dark wavy hair. Her big brown eyes seemed to be filled with happiness as she was giggling when the photo was taken.

Barney held the photo up for everyone to see. The room stayed silent as they tried to process what the picture meant. Barney cleared his throat to bring everyone's attention to him.

"Guys we would like you to meet Eliana Stinson or Elli for short. In a few weeks the paper work will be finished and we will go back to Argentina to pick her up. She's our adopted daughter." Barney's chest was puffed up like a peacock by the time he was finished. It would have made Robin laugh at how proud he was to tell everyone if she wasn't so nervous.

Would her friends think it was a good idea?

Would they accept a new little person in their group?

"Woooooooooo!" the silence was broken as Lily raised her arms and wooed louder than any woo girl before her.

This reminded Robin of the time the group found out her and Barney were sleeping together and Lily assumed they were a couple.

"Whoa baby use your inside woo we just got the kids to sleep," Marshall said in an alarmed hush tone peeking over the couch to try and see if there was any movement from the children's room.

"Oh sorry, woooo," Lily said bashfully. "But this is not what I expected at all!"

Everyone in the room mumbled their own agreements.

Robin laughed nervously and looked at Barney for support.

"Well it's not what we expected either when we went to Argentine. It's especially not what I expected when I started the fight with Barney, but well, what do you guys think?" Robin's hand tightened its grip on Barney's as she looked around the room. Her eyes landed on Ted.

Ted had always been honest with her. God he couldn't help but blurt out the truth around her since the day he met her. If anyone was going to tell her the truth it was going to be Ted.

Ted's eyes widened as he realized Robin was waiting on an answer from him. After a pause he sat his beer down took the picture Barney was holding to examine it.

"I think," Ted paused dramatically, rubbing his chin as if he had a beard. "I think I'm going to have to start searching now if I'm going to find the perfect gift before she gets here. I am the Gift Master after all," Ted finally said and looked away from the picture to smile at the nervous couple before him.

All at once everyone in the room started talking.

Robin caught small pieces of each conversation but couldn't understand what exactly everyone was saying. However, she could tell everyone was excited and happy for them.

Suddenly Marshall jumped up and held his glass high above his head.

"I declare a toast! Never in our right minds did we think Robin or Barney would want children. Not after the way Robin screamed when babies were shown on T.V. or how Barney celebrated Not a Father's Day every year since he made up that stupid holiday. Although he did make a good turn around on the themed merchandise." Marshall bent over to high-five Barney before he continued.

"None-the-less our friends have decided to become a family which in turn makes our family as a group a little bigger and even more special," everyone lifted their glasses as Marshall finished and said their cheers.

Robin felt a lump form in her throat as she watched all her friends celebrate their news. Barney had jumped up to try and high-five everyone but ended up being hugged instead.

Robin picked up the photo Ted had sat down on the table. The photo had been taken the last day they had been in Argentina.

They had spent an extra month in Argentina getting to know Eliana and starting the adoption process. They had visited her every day with the excuse that they wanted her to become accustomed to them, although it was more so that Robin could become accustomed Eliana.

When it came to a child as happy and loving as Eliana though, it didn't take long for Robin to completely fall in love with her.

She and Barney had to return to America so they could finalize the paperwork for the adoption state-side. Trying to explain to Elli where they would be going had possibly been the hardest thing Robin had ever had to do. They left a cell phone with Elli's caretaker and talked to her every day. Even if the child didn't really understand what was going on she always started laughing when she heard their voices.

Robin had prided herself with being independent her whole life. Only once had she ever felt as if she was incomplete without some else, which had been filled when she finally allowed herself to love Barney. Now she knew her life could never be complete without this little girl in it.

As she looked around the room Robin felt her heart swell with joy. Her, Barney and Elli were a family now and she couldn't wait for Elli to meet the rest of her new family.

Fin.

**Thanks for reading. **


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